Automatic cruise control devices have been available for cars and other vehicles for years. Now, many cars may be equipped with a cruise control system direct from the factory. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,063 issued on May 5, 1998 to Sakonjyu et al. describes an improved automatic speed controlling apparatus for a vehicle designed to ensure a smooth driving feeling. Automatic cruise control devices are particularly advantageous on freeway driving or long road trips by automatically maintaining the speed of the vehicle to the cruising speed set by the driver.
Automatic speed controls of the past rely on the driver's judgement to set, monitor and control the speed of the vehicle. Also, the driver has the responsibility to ensure that the cruising speed of the vehicle is set to or below the legal speed limit. Occasionally, a driver may set the cruise control device to a higher speed on a highway and then drive through a small town having a lower legal speed limit without noticing the legal speed limit has changed. This results in traffic tickets and dangerous driving conditions for the driver, passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians. To avoid this situation, the driver must remain alert and notice when the legal speed limits change along the route to his destination. A method and system for controlling and monitoring the speed of a vehicle in relation to the legal speed limit at the geographic location of the vehicle would be useful, so the driver no longer has the burden of setting a safe cruising speed or keeping up with changing speed limits in different locations.